That’s right, in approximately 1 1/2 years, “Deadliest Catch” will be a very popular weekend show on other channels. This is a first for Discovery, and what’s interesting is that potentially as we’re watching season 5 on Discovery, other channels could be airing older seasons. It’s a win-win for “Deadliest Catch” fans!

Debmar-Mercury has snapped up domestic syndication rights to two of Discovery Communications’ most popular series — “Deadliest Catch” and “American Chopper” — marking Discovery’s first deal in syndication.

Debmar-Mercury, which last week announced a deal for a new syndicated game show version of Trivial Pursuit with Hasbro for fall 2008, is planning to make “Chopper” available to broadcast stations for weekend runs starting in fall 2008, while “Catch” will become available a year later. Both of the unscripted shows are being offered on a barter basis, with a 7/7 split. Discovery is handling ad sales. (Photos courtesy of Discovery)

Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said the deal came about after the pair were approached by Joel Berman, who is overseeing syndication for Discovery Communications.

“He asked us about the possibility of taking out ‘Chopper,’ and we said it would be better if we had both shows,” Marcus said. “One of the great things about Discovery is that their programming is so good, so high-quality and fantastic for stations. These shows also are very advertiser-friendly.”